Let Me Go
by Galaxi
Summary: Taking place during the Invasion: Aang is injured and Katara realizes she must let him go easily; however hard that will be. One-shot Kataang. Angst.


**A/N: A one-shot Kataang. Rated T for mentions of blood, angst, and more . . . very sad, in my opinion . . . so if you're not into that, I suggest you go find a happier source of Kataang fluffiness.**

**I got this idea a looong time ago, and it brought tears to my eyes. (Yes, I do cry over made-up characters.) Please know that this is kind of letting go of any sense of sadness that might have been bottled up inside me, and I definitely would NOT have rather it happen this way in the actual show. (Don't get me wrong, I really**_**do**_**like Aang.) If it did happen . . . well, that just might be the end of**_**my**_**life as well.**

**Still have no clue what I'm talking about? Well, continue reading . . .**

**Let Me Go.**

_What if . . . what if I don't come back?_

"Aang, don't say that! Of course you will!" These were the words Katara cried out loud as she pushed onward through the battlefield, striking firebender after firebender down with her skilled waterbending—which was fueled by rage—in a desperate attempt to make it to the top of the hill. To any onlooker (and there were plenty), she would have looked like a fierce warrior, determined to fight for the better of the four nations, and win this battle.

But her true motivation had nothing to do with that fact that she was _supposed_ to fighting like a severely threatened platapusbear; she gave Sokka credit for that pep talk . . . No, that had nothing to do with it at all. If she was being honest with herself, the real reason of why she was fighting so ferocious was because a certain airbender was lying atop that hill—put out of sight, or he would have been dead already—limp, wounded, and seemingly, lifeless.

Katara pushed onward, because she knew that if he actually _was_ lifeless by the time she reached him, then she would have been far too late.

The adrenaline that pumped through Katara's veins was like nothing she had ever experienced before in her life. She was always pushed forward by some mental energy when she found herself in a situation in which someone she loved was in danger, but this feeling was one of pure terror.

_I love Aang_, she realized. _So, so much_.

She hardly paid attention to what she was doing as she slashed down the enemies with deadly water whips that left them unconscious or fatally wounded on the ground. She ignored the occasional sting of heat that wafted across her skin when some lucky Fire Nation soldier found an opening in which he could strike. She didn't worry about it, because that soldier was soon nearly dead before her feet. She didn't even notice the fact that she was fighting at least five firebenders at a time. It didn't matter, as long as she made it through, and got to him.

In a swirl of waterbending that left the last, close enemy to retreat, Katara could finally focus on running. Just running—as quick as she possibly could.

Tears streaming down her face caused her to stumble over her feet as she hastily ran to the boy she loved. The boy that was nearly dead . . . and could very well die if she didn't get there quick enough. How it happened so fast, she had no clue. Aang seemed to be defending himself just fine. That is, until he was surrounded by more than ten Fire Nation soldiers that instantly found an opening as he became distracted with one of them at a time. Far away and helpless, Katara could do nothing but watch in horror as Aang forcefully dragged his weak body behind a concealing bush, hardly being able to fight the remaining benders off.

Now, the only thing that mattered was getting to that particular bush and closing the agonizing distance between the two.

_Oh, no . . . please no. Aang, please . . ._

The long yards gradually turned to short feet as Aang came into better view for Katara's eyes. Finally, her mind racing, Katara reached her destination.

He was definitely in a worse condition than she thought he'd be.

Pushing all other worldly concerns completely out of her mind for the time being, she gripped his wiry body against her chest, ignoring the fact her clothes were getting stained crimson with blood.

_His_ blood.

She willed all the muscles in her body to have the strength to move Aang to a more concealing part of the large plant, one where she could heal him in peace.

Once she was satisfied with their surroundings, Katara gently laid his head on small patch of grass, positioning his body to go flat against the ashen colored ground. She softly pressed her ear on his chest where she assumed his heart to be located. Sure enough, a faint beating sound could be heard; and it was unmistakably getting even fainter.

"No, Aang. You stay with me, now," she gasped as she pulled the remains of his burnt robe from his chest, making it easier to begin healing. She pulled a small amount of water from the skin she kept slung around her body, and immediately started the healing procedure on the multiple wounds up and down his body. He'd grown surprisingly muscular over the past year, but that was not enough to save him now.

Katara fed more and more chi to the glowing water wrapped around her hands, getting whiter and brighter by the second. Every second she did not get a response from Aang. Not the tiniest twitch, not one single sound. He was still there, she knew; his chest lifted lightly with each strained breath. Yet at the same time, he was not there, conscious and respondent as he should be.

Just when she thought she'd lost him, a small, pained groan escaped his mouth.

"K-Katara . . . it's . . ."—a weak cough—". . . too late."

"Aang," she breathed as several more tears escaped her eyes, and fell onto his bruised skin. He winced slightly, then settled as though all life were being drained from him.

It was.

"No, don't ever say that," she continued stubbornly, her voice cracking. She couldn't find her voice for a few moments. The dreaded moments in which Aang was dying . . . right before her very eyes.

"I love you, Katara," he muttered weakly as though he didn't hear a word she'd said. "Know that I will always love you, forever . . . and always . . ."

She stared at him horrifically, not believing what was happening. Tears continued to fall from her eyes, making her vision blurred. She finally found her voice again after several seconds.

"Don't say that," she repeated, "not like you're saying goodbye."

"I'm sorry, Katara. I failed you. You and the rest of the world." Tears of his own now fell from Aang's eyes, and Katara gasped when she saw them as tears of blood.

"I love you too, Aang, and you're going to stay with me! Do you hear me? You . . . you _have_ to!"

A weak smile fell on his face as those tears of blood continued to fall. He rasped, "Katara . . . you're going to have to let me go."

She shook her head. "No. Never. Ever."

"Just kiss me, Katara . . . then let me go."

She stared at him, at his gentle yet beaten face, and sobs racked her whole body.

"When I die . . . the last thing I'm going to remember is the taste of your lips," he explained feebly.

"No," Katara mumbled, managing to make that one word sound hysterical. Nevertheless, she wasted no time in leaning her head down to him, pressing her lips tightly against his own dry, blood stained ones.

_Along with you died joy.  
All that remains is despair and a future of meaningless tomorrows.  
But I will never give up.  
One, to see your  
Beautiful smile again.  
One, to beg the  
Blessings of the Gods  
I wait for that day.  
When the boards cover all  
All sadness too will be covered  
But until my dreams  
Return to reality  
I will have to swallow  
All the pain._

And as Aang's lips eventually grew cold against her own, she had no idea it would be so hard.

**2nd****N/A: That's pretty much the end as Avatar as we know it, huh? How nice.**

**Please review.**


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